The Raven and The Wolf
by Ayame-chan
Summary: A young woman of the Riskbreakers is ordered to assassinate the one person that is getting in their way: 3rd captain of the Shinsengumi, Saitoh Hajime. But what if that woman accidentally falls in love with him? R&R! COMPLETED
1. Chapter One

The Raven and The Wolf

a side story to "To Forgive and Forget" by Ayame-chan

DISCLAIMERS: You know the routine...right??

AUTHORESS NOTES: Okay, you don't _really_ have to read "To Forgive and Forget" before this, but I'm just warning you that it does sorta fall into its timeline. While trying to write and continue on the main story, THIS pops up and says "write me!" My lil' version on how Saitoh and Tokio met. Enjoy!

_Damn it, where is he? _the man thought as he searched through the blanket of darkness. There was no help of the moon tonight, which made this chase even more difficult.

The man was a samurai in his early twenties with a thin, wolf-like face, and hair and eyes that matched the blanket of darkness that surrounded him. He paused in mid-chase and waited. His blue and white uniform was stained with blood, his sword still clean. The assault to prevent the Ishin Shishi create another mass attack on the chaotic city of Kyoto had gone well...but somebody interfered. And that somebody was someone that Saitoh Hajime, third captain of the Shinsengumi, wanted to capture.

His enemy was someone of cunning and quickness, realizing after some of his best men fell prey to. He was also aware that he was the primary target and nobody else. After easily, almost too easily, avoiding Okita's attack, the ninja jumped away to safety in the rooftops with the entire Shinsengumi playing a game of cat and mouse, them being the mice. A few times while chasing the ninja in the darkness did he have to parry, but before Saitoh could counterattack, his enemy leaped away as if taunting him. Mibu's Wolf did not like to be prey.

A dark shadow above caught his eye. Saitoh smiled cruelly. _I've found you._

He patiently waited for the perfect time to strike. As the ninja began to descend, Saitoh quickly executed the overhead Gatotsu, taking the ninja by surprise. He had managed to avoid getting impaled, but he was wounded deep in the shoulder. Saitoh tried to use the injury to his advantage, but the ninja threw out a smoke bomb hidden in its robes and disappeared. Cursing to himself, Saitoh stepped out of the alleyway to get a "brighter" view of his sword and wiped the blood away with one quick flick of the wrist.

"Saitoh-san!" a voice called behind him.

He turned to find Okita and other members of the Shinsengumi. Their clothes, too, were stained with blood, but none were theirs.

"Were you able to capture him, Saitoh-san?" Okita asked in his usual soft tone.

"Ie," he replied dully, sheathing his katana. "Only a blow to the shoulder."

"Sou ka..." Okita murmured and nodded at Saitoh's underlying meaning to his words. They would have to look for a person, man or woman, with a freshly injured shoulder.

"How many have died?" Saitoh asked in a bored tone. Years of fighting had made him indifferent to material loss, but it was duty that told him to ask the question.

"Around five were killed instantly, eight heavily injured when we gave chase," the fourth captain of the Shinsengumi, Matsubara Tadaji, replied. "Shinpachi was also among those injured."

At this, Saitoh arched a curious eyebrow. _That idiot?_

If it hadn't been for a veyr lucky win during the choosing of the captains, Saitoh would have ended up being second captain. He was silently pleased of Shinpachi's injury.

"How bad?" he asked out of curiousity.

"It's not life threatening," Okita said. "He has a slight scratch across the chest, but that's it. He was quick enough to avoid the enemy's full impact."

"Hn," came Saitoh's reply.

"We should go back to Takagi-san's home," Okita suggested. "Our job is finished, for now."

The other men nodded in agreement and followed the young captain back to their patron's home. Saitoh remained for a moment before following.

The Takagi household was deathly still. A shadow leaped across the yard into an empty room and quickly slid the door closed behind it before removing its mask. The ninja revealed to be a young woman of fair complexion, her midnight hair spilling across her shoulders and ending down at her waist, her eyes of a chocolate brown. Beads of sweat dripped down her face, her hand tightly clutching her shoulder to prevent more bleeding. She leaned against the door for a second, breathing heavily from the lack of blood, before she gained enough strength to treat her wound and change.

Her katana was hidden underneath the mat as she changed her disguise, its blade spotless, but there still was the scent of new blood that lingered.

The Shinsengumi patiently waited for their hidden passage to open. After a few minutes, it did open to reveal the youngest daughter of the Takagi family, Takagi Tokio. Saitoh once in a while caught glimpses of her walking around the gardens, taking care of her pregnant cousin, but this was the first time that he actually _saw_ her entirely. Her chocolate brown eyes put him in a trance that he could not tear his gaze from.

"Ara, Tokio-san, you shouldn't stay up so late just waiting for us," Tani, seventh and one of the youngest captains, replied. He, like many of the other young men in their group, quickly fell in love with the young heir.

Nobody could blame them, though. Takagi Tokio was a very charming and intriguing young woman, the last daughter who would be turning the age when one should be wed off. Takagi Kikuo was a man of ideals, but he was also a protective father over his three daughters, especially Tokio. Since the two elder duaghters were already wed to good families, every male tried to take advantage of Tokio's innocence and all have failed. 

Saitoh, though, was one of the few who didn't even bother. He did feel a slight attraction to the young woman, but nothing more than slight attraction. There were more important things to worry about than marriage and love, if there was any in this time. He snapped back into reality when Tokio's typically sweet voice replied, "Ie, Tani-san, I'm fine. Besides, otousama knows that I'm a night owl."

She opened the door a bit wider for the men to pass through before closing the passage again and leading the pack back to the Takagi home. The wound in her shoulder still ached, but Tokio expertly hid her pain as she bid her guests good night in their rooms. Saitoh was the last.

"Oyasumi nasai," Tokio said, lowering her eyes and beginning to leave the room.

"Tokio-san," Saitoh called out, noticing something odd in her movements. She turned around, her eyes beginning to captivate his attention again. He managed to resist and asked, "What is wrong with your arm? You seem to be moving it awkwardly."

"Oh, it's nothing," Tokio sweetly lied. Oh, how she could lie. "I was carrying too heavy a load of water to my cousin and they are rather sore."

"Sou..." Saitoh murmured, deep in thought. "Maa, be careful when you do chores like that again."

Tokio nodded. "I will. Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi."

As soon as she slid the door closed and far off from Saitoh's view, Tokio clutched her shoulder to ease the pain and quickly left to her room.

Sasaki Aiko waddled around the Takagi home early the next morning, feeling the need for exercise. She was well into her seventh month of pregnancy carrying not one, but two children in her womb. She was so big that it was awfully hard to walk around, and her husband often joked to her that she looked like that she ate a large watermelon whole, much to her dismay. Although she was a pregnant mother of two with two more on the way, Aiko had a secret that few knew.

Most of the hitokiris during the Bakumatsu no Doran were men, but there were two infamous female hitokiris: Hitokiri Kaede and Hitokiri Rekka. Hitokiri Kaede was a hitokiri of the shadows, but Aiko was much different. Her identity was Hitokiri Rekka was the twins sister of Battousai in both elusion and ruthlessness.

"Aiko, what are you doing up?" Tokio asked, surprised.

"I just wanted to walk around for once," she replied to her cousin and saw the noticeable red stain on her shoulder.

Glancing around quickly to see if anyone was in the proximity, Aiko stepped inside her cousin's room and closed the door behind her.

"What happened?" she asked quietly. 

"The mission didn't fare so well," Tokio replied, sitting back down on her futon. She shrugged off her kimono to reveal the already stained bandages wrapped around her shoulder.

While taking off the bandages, Aiko examined the would more closely. She hissed at just the sight of it.

"You're being careless around him," she murmured to Tokio. She began replacing the bandages with fresh ones. "I'm surprised that you managed to avoid from getting impaled."

"It's the same Gatotsu stance, but in a different position," Tokio informed. "I wasn't being careless; I just didn't expect him to learn and master the different positions of his technique already."

"The Shinsengumi are known to specialize in one move," Aiko said her thoughts aloud. She finished wrapping the shoulder wound and patted it gently. "There, all new. Change it in four hours."

"Arigatou," Tokio replied and stood up, searching through her closet for her best kimono. There was a pause as she found a decent one to wear for the day. "He did ask me about my shoulder last night. Is it really that noticeable how I move?"

Aiko sighed. Although the two cousins were the same age, Aiko had a bit more experience in real like than Tokio because she had first drawn blood at the tender age of four.

"Ie, it's not. I can barely notice the way you carry your arm," she replied. "Saitoh has a good eye on the detailed."

Tokio would not comment on her cousin's words as she dressed herself for the day. _I will get him for sure._

~to be continued~


	2. Chapter Two

The Raven and the Wolf: Chapter Two

a side story to "To Forgive and Forget" by Ayame-chan

AUTHOR'S NOTES: ...Wow....people *liked* this fic! ^_^ I'm glad. Well, here's more of this fic! I'll end it soon, though...

"Things are not faring so well in Kyoto," a voice said in the darkness.

It was pitch black in the room with only the moon dimly shining through the rice paper doors. Ten figures sat around a long table. Each of their faces were masked with darkness.

In the underground of Japan, there lies a society that runs the lifestyle of Japan itself. In other words, this society is the true rulers of Japan for countless of thousands of years. The society was known as the Riskbreakers, willing to sacrifice dignity and their lives for a more powerful and better country. However, that is the name of their dispatchers, the families who have sworn loyalty to the society and have done their orders. The real society is unknown. Not even the Riskbreakers themselves know who are the faces that they serve.

"Many have died," a second voice said across the room. "The Ishin are going too far on their killing spree."

"Those lives can easily be replaced," a third voice rebutted. "What is our status?"

"The Ishin are doing quite well with young Masaki's help," the fourth voice replied. "However, Kaede is...lacking."

"It is not the girl's fault," the third voice said in defense. "This is only the first time that she has failed."

"The first time, but not the last," the fourth voice pointed out. "You defend her because she is your student."

"That is not it," the third voice argued. "You know quite well that she has done all of her many previous missions successfully. Nothing is able to escape her grasp."

"But Hajime must be killed," a fifth voice replied. "She has not done so, yet."

"Then she will make sure he will be dead soon."

"Why him, I wonder?" a sixth voice asked. "Why not the young boy?"

"It is a deed that must be completed," the leader replied. "He is like a thorn in our side. If he does not die, then our plans for the peaceful era will be ruined."

"Persuasion cannot work?" a seventh voice asked.

"Don't you think we have tried?" an eighth voice answered. "The boy's too stubborn with the idea of Aku. Soku. Zan. He remains strictly loyal to the Shinsengumi."

"Then temptation, then?" the final voice suggested. "To come to think of it, why not wed Kaede to him? They make a rather charming couple."

Kaede's master snorted in response. "It will never work."

"Why not?"

"She would rather kill herself than to be wed to someone. The girl cannot stay put at home as a wife."

"But from what Rekka has observed, he is too the same."

"..."

"Enough arguing," the leader interrupted. "Mitsu."

A ninja stepped forth from the wall. "Hai?"

"Send this message to Kaede at once. If she is not able to execute her mission in five days, then she will be killed."

The ninja bowed. "As you wish." She disappeared.

"Why such a harsh ultimatum?" the third voice asked.

"At this time, we cannot afford our identities to be revealed."

Tokio stared down at the paper given to her, its beautiful handwriting beginning to disappear. 

"I understand," she murmured.

"The powder that I have given you should be able to hasten your progress, Tokio," Mitsu replied in the shadows.

Tokio sighed. "Thank you for your concern, Mitsu, but I can handle it."

"Be careful," Mitsu replied and returned to the darkness.

Tokio paid no mind to the disappearing ninja. Instead, she pondered on her goal, still holding the letter in her hand.

"Tokio-san?"

She jumped slightly in surprise, clutching the blank paper to her chest and turning around to find the very man she was, and still is, supposed to assassinate.

"W-what is it, Saitoh-san?" she asked and smiled.

He blinked about twice before slowly replying, "Your father has asked me to get you. He has something to tell you."

"Did he tell why?" she asked, regaining her former composure.

Saitoh gazed one second in her eyes before fixing them somewhere else and replied, "Ie. I assume it's a personal matter."

"Sou ka..." Tokio murmured thoughtfully before nodding again. "Arigatou, Saitoh-san. I'll come to him right away."

She hurriedly walked passed him, loose strands from her hair lightly brushing against his cheek. His eye muscles involuntarily twitched at the feeling. As he watched her go, Saitoh's suspicions grew. When she had passed by, he could smell the sweet scent of her perfume and something else he did not expect would be on a young woman like her.

Blood.

MORE AUTHOR'S NOTES!

*Dun dun dun...* Now, what will Saitoh figure out, I wonder? ^_^ Yes, I'm making this up as I go along, and I'm glad that you guys like this fic! I planned to make this fic only three or four chapters long, so the end will be coming soon....I hope ^_^. Hope you enjoyed this! R&R!!


	3. Chapter Three

The Raven and the Wolf: Chapter Three

a side story to "To Forgive and Forget" by Ayame-chan

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Aiyaa!!! I'm sorry for not updating! *bows* Please forgive me! After the second chapter, I...uh...how can you say...got writer's block? I wrote at least three different versions for this chapter and neither of them seemed right to me until this one. Hopefully, this will satisfy all your hungry needs of "what-the-hell-is-she-going-to-do-next" to this fic. Enjoy!

_You have five days to either marry or follow in your mother's footsteps. _

As she looked up at the clear morning sky, Tokio's mood darkened even more. It had been a day since her father had issued that choice, increasing the pressure that she already had from the society's letter. She knew that both had good reason to challenge her capabilities: the society for their secretiveness and her father for her own well-being. However, her father's ultimatum was more personal and reminding her about her mother was a memory Takagi Tokio did not want to remember.

Her mother, Mitsuragi Tetsuko, was also a Riskbreaker in the past along with her father; they were continuing a long time tradition in both noble families. When Tetsuko died, though, her father Kikuo broke that longtime tradition; and it was never taken up again until Tokio's curiosity of her ancestry and mother's true death got the better of her.

Rumors had it that Mitsuragi Tetsuko, known as Hitokiri Kaiten at the time, was a successful Riskbreaker like Tokio. Not one mission was foiled by the enemy and those who had found Tetsuko's true nature would soon no longer live to see the next day. It was not until a month after Tokio was born when her mother's assassination spree was put to an end. Nobody knew how she died with the exception of Kikuo who dared not to remember.

Tokio paused in her kunai throwing when the sound of footsteps reached her ears. A young maid just a bit younger than her came scurrying into the practice area. 

"Tokio-sama!" the maid shouted upon recognizing her.

Tokio calmly put away the remaining kunai she had in her hand into their respectable pouch. 

"What is it, Oshin?" she asked as the servant ran towards her.

Oshin paused for breath as soon as she reached her mistress. Then she finally uttered out, "Tokio-sama, it's Aiko-sama! She...she's in labor right now!"

Tokio's almond colored eyes widened in shock. "Nani?"

Oshin nodded furiously, her nicely kept hair beginning to fall out of its ponytail. "Hai! Mitsuko-sama asked me to find you."

_Oh, thank you very much for giving **me** all the work, sister._ Tokio thought annoyingly. She tightened the belt around her hakima.

"Oshin, take me to them."

Shinsengumi meeting room

Okita couldn't help it but laugh. Although Saitoh's explanation seemed reasonable enough, it just seemed impossible to happen. When the young captain finally managed to subdue his laughter, his face turned back to stone.

"It seems reasonable, but Saitoh-san, maybe you're just suspicious of Tokio-san because you have killed one too many," Okita suggested. 

"Or you can be just a tad bit interested in her," Shinpachi added nonchalantly, polishing his katana.

Saitoh ignored the annoying comment. "It's just a thought."

"A rather vague one, but one that will be looked into," their superior, Hijikakta, said. "Besides, I'm beginning to wonder about Takagi-san."

This last comment sent a minor ripple through the captains.

"You mean, you don't know our own patron?" Tadaji, the fourth captain, asked incredulously.

Hijikakta burst into a fit of laughter. His laughter echoed in the room like a deep, rumbling earthquake. The captains remained silent. It was not the best time to interrupt their superior, the founder of the Shinsengumi.

"Takagi is a good friend of mine," he began to explain, "but there are things about him that I don't know about, such as his daughters and why he hasn't contacted me after his wife's death nearly twenty years ago." He stroked his chin thoughtfully as if realizing something. "I hear rumors from the servants that the young daughter is rarely home at night and that she is following her mother's footsteps, whatever they are."

"You don't believe what Saitoh-san has said, do you?" cried out one of Tokio's fans, Suzuki Mikisaburou, eighth captain of the Shinsengumi. Noticing the glare that the higher captain mentioned was giving him, he slowly sunk back down on the cushion and mumbled. "I'm not saying that he's lying..."

Hijikakta shook his head. "I am not saying that I believe nor do I deny it, but the suggestion is rather intriguing." Receiving some grumbling from the group, Hijikakta frowned.

"Now, I know that the majority of you and the rest of your troops have a little fanclub for her, but you must realize that every person can have two sides to themselves," he said in a loud voice, waving one hand. "Case solved. Let's get onto other matters."

As the rest of the Shinsengumi turned to other matters, Saitoh tuned it out to ponder silently to himself. He didn't bother about the other issues addressed; they were all politics. What came up in his mind now and again was the woman Takagi Tokio. He could have sworn that he smelled blood on her. Either that or, as Okita had suggested, the assassinations he accomplished were getting to him. Yet he could not get her out of his mind. It was not just that he was suspicious of her; it was something else. Something that kept on nagging at him to remember something. _Love?_ he mentally shook his head. No, such things were useless to him. _Then, what was it?_

Saitoh figured that Tokio's eyes, which had enraptured him each time they met, would give him an answer.

nighttime ~ Aiko's room

Tokio wiped away the sweat on her brow as she washed away the blood off of her hands in the nearby basin. Childbirth. After being the midwife to her own cousin, she wished to herself that she would _never _have to go through what Aiko did. Although the reward was something good, the pain was excruciating. She watched from the corner of her eye to see her elder sister Mitsuko tend to her bruised hand. Tokio suppressed a shudder. How could Aiko handle such pain after not once, but _three_ times?

"Ne, Tokio," a voice murmured from the other side of the room.

Tokio dried her hands and turned to look at the voice's owner, Aiko. "Nani?"

She looked horrible. Over ten hours of labor made Aiko weak from exhaustion. Her face was pale as a ghost with perspiration clinging onto the skin. Her hair stuck around her sunken cheeks and damp neck. Cradled in each arm was a squirming bundle of blankets waiting to be fed. Despite all that, Tokio saw something that in her cousin's eyes she wished that she could have. Joy.

"When is Masaki coming home?" Aiko asked.

Tokio retied her hair back to perfection. "I asked Oshin to send a message for him to come home right away. He should be here later tonight, why?"

A mischievous smile spread across Aiko's pretty face. "I want to kill him."

All the women in the room giggled, and Aiko tended to her newborn twin girls.

"And I thought that after giving birth to two other children, you would be used to it, Aiko-chan," Mitsuko said sarcastically.

"Are you kidding? I would rather fight a hundred Shinsengumi than go through this," Aiko replied as she gazed down at her children. "Although, I don't mind the reward given."

Silence fell in the room once again. Then Mitsuko stood, straightening her kimono as she did so. Her right hand was wound tightly in the bandage wraps.

"I'll go check on the other two munchkins," she whispered loudly, gesturing to the adjoining room. "They might have been awakened by all the noise."

"And I'll go see if Masaki is here," Tokio added. "I need to make sure he isn't seen."

outside

As she had predicted, Sasaki Masaki was coming towards the rarely used back gate of the Takagi household. His unruly midnight hair covered hair covered his eyes; a lean yet muscular figure was clearly seen through his dark clothes. A rather ornate katana hilt was tucked in his obi. Tokio patiently waited for him just inside the gates, completely unaware that someone was watching her from afar.

MORE AUTHOR'S NOTES (yet again): Wheee....I hope that kinda suits out. You see, what I had been planning to do was to add a little father/daughter scene between Tokio and Kikuo, then decided against it. I was also going to add the entire pregnancy scene where Aiko's screaming hell and fury...but.....writing one is very hard to write out, if you know what I mean. Labor isn't a very nice thing in childbirth.....for us women, anyway ^_^. R&R!


	4. Chapter Four

The Raven and the Wolf: Chapter Four

a side story to "To Forgive and Forget" by Ayame-chan

AYAME-CHAN SAYS: Getting closer and closer to the finale (oy vie...) and I think I strayed off a little in this chapter. If I did, well...it'll all make sense once you read the final chapter (which is the next one by the way ^^).

For the first time in Saitoh Hajime's career in Shinsengumi, he was given the chance to sleep like a normal human being. However, after countless of times fighting during the night, sleep was deprived of him. Instead came one thought that kept on coming back again and again in his mind. Tokio. The last heir of the Takagi family who held something else hidden in the dark orbs of her eyes. Dark orbs that paralyzed him at one glance.

Frustrated with these thoughts, Saitoh rolled out of bed. He took out his uniform and got out of his sleeping kimono to change into it. Although it was expertly washed, the scent of old blood still lingered. Saitoh didn't mind. He rarely noticed it. He tucked his dai-sho swords into his obi out of precaution and stepped out of his room. 

Saitoh's room of choice out of many in the Takagi home was the one closest to the rear gate. The gate itself was still quite a ways from the home itself, but Saitoh was given a clear view of it. What he saw as he stepped out of his room was something unexpected.

back gate ~ Tokio

Tokio gave a small smile at her cousin's husband as he glanced up from the ground. Masaki looked exhausted from his trip, but there was still a lot of energy left in his eyes. Tokio came towards the gate and quickly unlocked it to let him enter.

"Took you long enough," she said in a low voice. "I was beginning to think you had gotten lost or something."

The young man couldn't help but smile at his wife's cousin's banter. "How is she, Tokio?"

"From the last time I saw her, resting," Tokio replied. "I think it's amazing that you two can handle all those children all at once."

Masaki arched a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Tokio smiled again. She had almost forgotten that he hadn't seen his wife for four months. "Just clean yourself up and go see her." Her smile faded. "And make sure you won't be seen around here. The Shinsengumi have been staying here for a while and I'm sure they wouldn't mind spilling some more blood of their enemy."

Masaki nodded in understanding and handed her a letter before silently leaving. Not a sound was heard from him as he walked despite the fact that his weapon was heavier than the typical katana, and the ground was dry from the lack of rain.

Tokio gazed down at the light weight upon her hands. The letter was sealed with a very strange kanji, one that was only recognizable to the Riskbreakers. She sighed.

_What do they want now? _she thought as she gently opened the letter. Tokio was beginning to tire from the demands that the society kept giving to her. 

What the letter addressed inside was something that got her attention. Her mother's murderer....

She quickly closed the letter and hit it in the folds of her kimono before heading towards her room. For eight years she had been searching for an answer and that answer came from the person she unexpected the most. Her own teacher.

rear gates ~ Saitoh

_Where do you plan on going? _he thought as he watched her leave.

Duty told him to stay behind and arouse the others so that they would be able to capture the young woman without any struggle. However, instinct told the ookami to follow her alone. Saitoh decided to follow instinct and see for himself. Without her notice, he quickly followed Tokio to her room and patiently waited from a distance.

A few moments later, Saitoh saw a black shadow emerge from the room. No, he had assumed that the figure had come from to room. Observing more closely, he saw that it had appeared from the floor close by. As he crept closer, he saw that the figure carried Tokio's posture and stance. _So she is the ninja from before..._She skillfully leaped on the roof and faded in the darkness.

_What side is the old man really on? _ Saitoh thought as he quickly followed her.

Kyoto ~ downtown rooftops

The city, like her heart, was no longer at peace. The Ishin launched another attack in the peaceful streets, and the Shinsengumi on duty were struggling to stop it. Many men would die, but there was one in particular that Hitokiri Kaede was after. Whoever would get in her way would soon regret it. 

She walked silently across the rooftops, eyeing the scene below her. The fighting was still going on, but nobody needed her aid. Her shoulder throbbed in pain. Kaede cursed to herself that she didn't replace the bandage before she left. Not matter; it was a small hindrance against her target.

Just as she was about to move on to a different area, a familiar face caught the corner of her eye. She smiled grimily beneath her mask. _Good, he's alone_. Making sure that her katana was in place, Kaede leaped off the roof and aimed straight towards her prey.

Kyoto ~ ground

Takeda Sachio was too busy to notice the ninja-ko jumping straight towards him until the last minute. He meekly blocked its blow but received another wound from the opponent that he had been fighting against. The middle aged man gritted his teeth as metal bit into the flesh of his thigh. He quickly counterattacked, leaving the young Shinsengumi officer dead. He turned around to face the ninja-ko who stood waiting for him.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The ninja-ko, without answering, attacked. Sachio could barely keep up with each blow due to his previous wounds and age, and he wasn't able to get a chance to counterattack. She would just simply step aside from his attack as if it were nothing. During one of the passes, Sachio finally heard a response from the ninja-ko.

"I think you should remember me from the past ten years, Takeda Sachio," she replied.

"Nani?" he shouted in frustration, aiming for the collarbone. The weapon sliced true, but it was one second too late.

"Don't you remember the Riskbreakers?" the ninja-ko taunted. "Remember."

Sachio did remember them; the mercenaries for hire who held no view on how they thought about their civil war. He thought of them as honorless dogs only looking for money to satisfy their needs to kill. He despised every Riskbreaker, even the one who was aiding them right now.

A shadow passed before him and he instinctively reacted but was once again a second too late. Experience told him mind to observe his opponent's moves, to see if there was a weakness within. Unfortunately, there were none.

"Do you remember Hitokiri Kaiten, Takeda Sachio?" the ninja-ko asked again as she easily leaped over the samurai.

"I don't know what you're talking about, woman!" Sachio yelled.

But he did remember. Hitokiri Kaiten...Mitsuragi Tetsuko. The woman he had loved who refused his hand in marriage to marry another man, a Riskbreaker. The woman he had loved and killed with his own hands in revenge.

"If you don't know, then you should be ashamed of yourself for your killing of a woman who only followed her duty," the ninja-ko hissed angrily and attacked. 

Sachio was too slow to react. His voice had stopped functioning as the katana slid itself through his throat. His eyes stared lifelessly into the ninja-ko's own. Her eyes beheld those of a woman he remembered.

"Tet...su...ko...." he croaked before the ninja-ko slid out her weapon. Sachio fell to the ground, dead.

"Ie, Takeda Sachio," the ninja-ko murmured. "I'm her daughter."

NOTES: ...Straying off the subject? I think I am. But I will make it up! There's going to be a slight twist in the end and a little bit of OOC for Saitoh, but I don't think he'll be too out of character in the next chapter. R&R!

Chapter Five


	5. Chapter Five: The Finale!!

The Raven and the Wolf: Chapter Five

a side story to "To Forgive and Forget" by Ayame-chan

AN: Ahh...the final chapter! ^_^. Don't you just love having one of those days when you finally are able to finish something and then you don't want to finish it?

Tokio stared silently down at her mother's murderer's corpse before a glint of metal caught her eye. She held her weapon just in time as the two blades slid across one another. Sparks flew out of the friction and she stepped away before the second part of the attack could be completed. Her opponent's katana created a thin cut through her mask, a cut that barely missed skin.

"Saitoh Hajime," she addressed.

"Hn," he replied as he regained his balance. A wolfish smile appeared across his face. "I guess we can finish off what we started, don't you think?"

Tokio's eyes narrowed into thin slits. She had to kill this man in order to be free of the chains that were closing around her body. It was the perfect time to accomplish that, but...why did her heart pound so? The grip on her katana felt loose in her hands as if ready to fall in defeat. Tokio gripped on it tightly again and fell into a defensive stance. Saitoh in response fell into the Gatotsu stance whit the smile still on his face. A mixture of anger and hesitation welled in Tokio's chest.

_Why's he smiling like that? It's as if he knows something that I don't. _She forced her mind to calm down. _Tokio, you have your chance! But why...why am I hesitating?_

All the time around them seemed to stop. No noise, no movement would distract their attention. The silence was so deafening that Tokio could almost hear her own heartbeat. The thud of a fallen samurai disturbed the inner silence, and the two opponents attacked. Saitoh barely missed from getting his head lopped off. Instead, he ducked below Tokio's sword arm and sliced upward. Woman or not, Saitoh knew he had to fight seriously in order to live another day. To his surprise, Tokio blocked his blow with her opposite arm, a wakizashi in hand. He immediately recognized her sword technique.

"Niten," he murmured to himself.

He quickly regained his train of thought as Tokio used the momentum of her block to swing both of her weapons. He barely managed to block the attack, but the force of the blow sent him skidding back against the concrete wall.

_He's mine, _Tokio thought as she lunged forward, ready for the kill.

However, her keen eyes caught the sight of a shuriken aiming straight for her injured shoulder. She tried to change direction, but that caused the shuriken to sink right into the cut on her shoulder. She hissed in pain as she suddenly tripped over Takeda Sachio's corpse. Unfortunately, the angle of her body made her land right on the injured shoulder which in turn made the shuriken sink in deeper.

"Kcht..." she cursed as her vision began to blur.

She heard a whistle sound and the voices of men shouting.

"Oi! There's two left here!" one shouted. "Shinsengumi!"

_Ishin?_ she thought in a daze.

She felt herself being lifted by someone. Someone with strong arms.

"It's better we leave," said a deep voice. Tokio looked up, but she could barely recognize the face. The owner of the voice looked down at her, but she couldn't tell if the owner was human or a wolf.

"It would be easier to break through the line of idiots," the voice said, "but I can't leave you like this."

Tokio nodded without truly understanding what the voice was talking about. Her mind whirled about her as if time was playing tricks of speed before she succumbed to the darkness.

later

The sound of dripping water reached her ears. She felt something damp on her forehead. Slowly opening her eyes, Tokio looked up to an unfamiliar ceiling. Her eyes looked around the ceiling, wondering where she was.

"Sou...you can fight against poison just was well as you fight with your sword," came a familiar voice nearby.

Tokio bolted upright from her lying position and turned towards the direction of the voice, the wet cloth slipping to her hands.

The voice's owner sat nearby, his amber eyes glancing back at her. Tokio's eyes widened in shock.

"Saitoh!"

Saitoh calmly looked back at her and smirked. "I guess you have crawled out of that persona of a helpless young woman, Tokio." A pause. "San."

Tokio was about to ask another question, forgetting about formalities, but turned to look beside her. Her mask as well as her swords and the bloody shuriken from her shoulder lay next to her. Her shoulder itself had been re-bandaged with torn cloth that had apparently come from Saitoh's clothing, noticing the blue and white colors. Then finally the past few hours suddenly came back to her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You were struck by a shuriken dripped with poison," Saitoh answered as he turned to look out the window. "It gripped onto your body strongly as if the ninja who threw it wanted to you be dead. I carried you out here, to this abandoned hut."

Tokio didn't look at him. Instead, his words began to sink in. She had realized what the society had planned to do. _So...they planned to kill me even if I succeeded or not..._

"Why did you save me?" she whispered softly.

Saitoh glanced back at her, uncomfortable at the tone of her voice. "You are the daughter of a very esteemed family who is also the Shinsengumi's main patron. It's my duty as a member of the Shinsengumi to not just protect the city but our sponsors as well."

Tokio shook her head fiercely, not believing his words. As she did so, her midnight hair cascaded freely down to its full length. This time, she stared straight into Saitoh's eyes. 

"That's not what I meant. You know that I was sent to kill you. Why did you save me?"

They stared at each other in a few moments of silence. Without answering her question Saitoh asked, "If you were ordered to assassinate me, then why don't you do so now?"

Tokio narrowed her eyes. "Then I will."

She grabbed her wakizashi and lunged forward. The look in his eyes made her hesitate as the blade stopped within centimeters from his exposed neck. Saitoh did not move from his position nor did he draw his weapon in defense. He just sat there, staring into her eyes.

"You're shaking," he said calmly.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Tokio looked away and lowered her weapon to her side.

"You will die of a reason that even I don't understand," she replied softly. "And I'll die too...even if I kill you or not."

Saitoh arched a surprised (AN: well, surprised according to him) eyebrow. "Nande?"

She let out a light laugh, smiling sadly. "Even a Riskbreaker has a limited time of use when they have failed a mission."

She began to think of her mother. The mother that she would never know. Her murderer was dead, but Tokio felt nothing about it.

A coarse finger lightly brushed across the bottom of her eye. She looked up at Saitoh, not realizing that she had been crying in front of him. His usually stoic face was unusually soft with concern.

"Crying doesn't suit a woman like you," he murmured.

"Sait---" Tokio was about to say, but was cut short with a kiss.

Tokio at first hesitated, but she then soon returned the favor. Two souls melded into one as dawn began to return. They had only known one another for a few days. Even during those times, it was just a glimpse of each other or a few words exchanged on matters that never concerned them. However, just one night together made them realize that they had known each other for a long time.

Legends say that a lone wolf cub strayed from its pack and found a raven fallen from its nest. Instead of eating it, the cub tended to the fallen creature. With its help, the young raven recovered and the two outcast creatures became close friends. The raven and wolf would keep an eye out for one another, warning the other if predators were coming their way. Their companionship lasted for years, but the cruel vision of reality would soon come. The raven was struck down by a hunter's arrow one day, and it fell from the sky just as it had on the first time it tried to take flight as a chick. The wolf had veered out the hunter, but once he came back, it was too late to save his companion. In the raven's dying words, the raven promised her friend that they would see one another again in another life. She died in the wolf's paws, and he mourned over her death. However, the wolf remembered the raven's words and waited for the day when they would be reunited. 

They were finally reunited on that night.

MORE AUTHOR'S NOTES (aren't you getting sick and tired of me?)

Well, that's the end! It's kind of weird, I know, but I had NO clue how to end this fic. So, I just decided to connect the title to the story. I think it does anyway ^_^. Now the end of this fic gives me ideas to make more Saitou/Tokio fics! I'll probably just add little tidbits here and there about the current times, if ya know what I mean ^_^. Thank you for reading all you S&T fans and please, I would love to hear your feedback!

~Ayame-chan

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	6. Chapter Six: BONUS CHAPTER, NO DA!!!

The Raven and the Wolf: BONUS CHAPTER!! 

a side story to "To Forgive and Forget" by Ayame-chan

AN: Thanks to you reviewers (some came by e-mail ^^), here's a bonus chapter! Just note that there will be some S&T WAFF here as well as a lil' hint to my other fic "To Forgive and Forget", which I still have yet to update *facefault* Enjoy!

6th year of Meiji ~ Tokyo

Tokio observed the children play, her dark orbs absorbing in every detail. The emptieness that had once held a dark void inside were replaced by a green spark of joy as her hand unconsciously stole to her slightly swollen stomach. Inwardly, she smiled. Her cousing Aiko sat down next to her, heaving a great sigh of exhaustion.

"Tired?" Tokio asked.

"Uh huh," replied her cousin who blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes. "Not as tired as I thought, though, thanks to Ukiyou's help."

Tokio frowned at her cousin. "You should be careful, you know."

"I know my limits, Tokio. You shouldn't tell me that since I'm not the one who has a husband that acts like an overprotective wolf defending their cubs," Aiko retorted with a small smile on her face.

Tokio blinked a couple of times in confusion and tore her eyes away from her cousin with a faint pink across her cheeks.

"Hajime's more...concerned, especially since he's been away so much with all the work the government's giving him and my condition," she said as an excuse. Changing the subject, her eyes glanced at Aiko's adopted younger sister. "Ukiyou-chan's getting the hang of being the oneechan, ne?"

"Hai," Aiko agreed. "She has a knack for kids. I don't blame her, though, being the only surviving memeber and all."

Tokio nodded absentmindedly in agreement. She began to remember meeting the young teenage girl two years ago. The girl had a gift with the martial arts of any style, thanks to Aiko's gentle prodding and training.

"Where did you say she came from?" she asked. She rarely saw Ukiyou and tended to forget small things like this especially since she was now a minor Riskbreaker mercenary.

"Sekihoutai," her cousin answered. "Her brother was the leader. Sagara Souzo was his name, I think."

"Sou..." Tokio murmured in thought. "Are you sure you want to send her and her friend to Shanghai? From what my sources say, the route that they're taking is a bit dangerous."

Aiko leaned back against the pillar, patting _her_ slightly swollen stomach as well. Ironically, the two cousins were in about the same month of pregnancy with Tokio a month ahead. Even more surprising was the Aiko had four children before and was still able to stay in good shape.

"Oh, how so?" Aiko asked, arching one curious eyebrow.

"Legends say that there is an island in between our country and theirs. It only appears on the day of the Lunar Year. Many ships going through the route during that time of year are never to be seen again."

Aiko smiled. "That's exactly what I want to test out."

"So you're letting Ukiyou-chan go?"

"I didn't force her. She wants to go."

"Otouchan!!!" came the excited voices of the children.

The young teenager Ukiyou stopped juggling her kunai, skillfully catching them in her right hand and waving at the approaching figure with her left. Aiko stood up, not believing her eyes.

"Hey, since when did you say you were coming home early?"

As the figure came closer, Tokio could clearly see a grin across the figure's familiar face. It was Masaki.

"I guess you can say that I wanted to surprise you," he said as soon as he entered in hearing range. He lifted his second oldest, Asuka, in his arms. "The mission was too easy."

"Everything is too easy nowadays, what do you mean?" Tokio teased.

"Maa...."

"Well, I did pack everything early this morning," Aiko murmured in thought and then turned to Tokio. "Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself? We can wait for Saitoh to come home."

Tokio shook her head. "Ie, go ahead. You guys have plans when you come home to Musashi, don't you?"

"We're in no rush, Tokio-neechan," Ukiyou replied as she had one of Aiko's twins clinging onto her pantleg. 

"Besides, we'll be home early, anyway," Masaki added.

Yet Tokio insisted, giving the family her most winning smile. "I'll be fine by myself. Besides, it's not the first time I've been home alone before."

This statement was true. Ever since Saitoh Hajime accepted the newly formed Meiji government's offer as an undercover police officer, he had been rarely home to spend time with Tokio. But it did not disintegrate their marriage. Instead, the separation strengthened it. Tokio acted as her husband's "secret" partner and gave him all the information that he needed on an assignment that he could not obtain from the government. Also, she was also his replacement if needed. She hadn't fought much since she got married, but that didn't menat that Tokio's skills had decreased over the years.

Aiko stared at her cousin for a moment and smiled back. She knelt down as low as she could and gave Tokio a hug.

"I understand," she whispered. "See you next time, ne?"

Tokio nodded. "Aa."

later that evening

A tall, slim figure walked alone down the dusky path towards his home as the sun began to fall back in the shadows of the night. Although his body was walking along unconsciously home, his mind was elsewhere. The commissioner had given him one week's rest before his next assignment, which was a rather interesting one to him at the least. Finding Battousai's whereabouts and testing his strength...he had to ask his wife Tokio for some clues. 

The man threw away the cigarette he had in his mouth before entereing in the home. Saitoh Hajime, now Fujita Goro, knew that his wife was expecting and did not want to harm her in any way. Although it had been nearly six months since he had last seen his wife, Tokio had arrived at the commissioner's station one day to deliver the news.

He entered through the back gate and came into the kitchen, slinging his jacket over his shoulder as he did so. Tokio stood in front of a cutting board, chopping onions at an unbelievable speed that only few people could see. She was well off in thought by the look of her eyes and humming softly to herself. One wouldn't believe that she was once a hitokiri if it wasn't for her lightly callaused hands.

Saitoh smiled to himself as he approached her. They were married for six years now, and she hadn't changed much. It was he, the last surviving member of Mibu's wolves, who had changed; and it was only, and only, around his wife when he would act...differently. Saitoh wrapped his arms around his wife's petite fram, taking in the scent of her hair. She gradually stopped cutting, trying to control herself to not let a small smile creep to her face. 

"Tadaima," he murmured in her ear.

"Okaerinasai," she replied in a whisper that could only be heard by him. Then she finished cutting the rest of the onion and slid it into a nearby bowl.

Saitoh just watched, arms still wrapped around her. He always found it interesting just to watch how her hands moved. Tokio had a unique way of moving items. It wasn't because she was the daughter of a very wealthy and esteemed family; she possessed a quality that seemed inhuman, but Saitoh couldn't figure out what.

"They left already?" he asked regarding the Sasakis.

"Hai, about four hours ago," she replied in a voice that was only reserved for him.

Tokio let her husband's hands stray away from her waist and around her stomach. He rubbed the small lump barely protruding from her body gently.

"And how were you two?" he asked.

Tokio smiled and snuggled into the crook of his neck. 

"Lonely," she replied in a honey voice. "It's been cold here at night without you."

Saitoh couldn't help it but chuckle, a low rumbling in his throat. "Maa, you won't be cold tonight."

~The End ~

Really, it's THE end! I promise, no da!


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